News

Our SRE survey is now closed and we would like to say a great big thank you to the many people that took the time out of their busy schedules to complete our short survey online.

The feedback and comments we have received further highlight to us here that we still have a great deal to do and a long way to go to make inclusive LGBT+ SRE education a reality for all involved. We have now collated the results and feedback from the survey and have compiled a short report of our findings. The report can be viewed by clicking the ‘View/Download Report’ button below.

If you would like to enquire more about our findings or find out more about how ABFABB might be able to benefit you and your staff absolutely free of charge, then please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01656 647601 or email Cristina at cristina.lepri@abfabb.org.uk.

As you know, the next National Assembly for Wales election will be held on 5 May 2016. Caryl Mai Hughes, Outreach and Liaison Officer will be giving an overview at Evergreen Hall, Bridgend on April 20th, 10am of the National Assembly for Wales election, what the National Assembly for Wales is responsible for in Wales, the voting process and discussing Constituency and regional seats.

Confused – don’t be! If you’ve not or have never met with the Assembly Outreach and Liaison team to talk about being involved in the election and voting then this is a great opportunity for your to do so.

One way of expressing your ‘Community Voice‘ is by using your democratic right as a citizen of the UK to vote. If you’ve not registered to vote you can do this online at

Following our participants’ successful delivery of a petition to the Welsh Government asking for an all-inclusive approach to Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) within schools, we are now looking to gather the views of teachers and teaching support staff on the delivery of inclusive SRE into schools within Wales. The information will be used to produce training resources and materials that further redress their needs.

Posted below is a link to a short survey that we have compiled in both English and Welsh. With busy schedules and workloads in mind, the survey will only take a couple of minutes to complete. We would be grateful if you could circulate this post or link on to the teachers and staff in your school and to anyone you think would be interested to contributing towards this issue.

Please feel free to get in touch to discuss the survey and/or to get more information about ABFABB. If you think it would be helpful, we are more than willing and happy to visit your school to talk to the staff members in relation to LGBT+ issues. Please be assured that the data that we receive from this survey will be treated in the strictest of confidence and maintained under data protection regulations. None of the fields in the survey are compulsory, so respondents should only answer the questions they are comfortable with.

The ABFABB team and its peers thank you for your time and your support in this matter and we look forward to your responses.

Stand Against Bullying

The BIG STEP Against Bullying

Saturday 20th June 2015

Bridgend says “End Bullying” is launching the young people’s anti-bullying group ‘Stand Against Bullying’ (SAB) with the above event, a sponsored walk in partnership with V2C and Western Beacons Mountain Rescue. All proceeds from the walk will be divided equally between the Stand Against Bullying Group and Western Beacons Mountain Rescue.

Brings a packed lunch, clearly marked with their name as these will be carried on the Mini bus, along with extra water for the route.

All groups require a qualified member of staff accompanying their group of walkers and a minibus will run alongside the route (that is mostly on a cycle track) should any young person need picking up because of tiredness or blisters etc.

The walk is planned to start at 9.30am from the top of the cycle track in Nantymoel, there is a break for refreshments around the half way mark in the Wesley Centre, Tondu between 1pm and 2pm, finishing in Kenfig Nature Reserve between 4pm – 5pm. To celebrate the end of the walk there will be an event including food, entertainment, stalls and live music which will start around 2pm with some of the stalls and shows and the main entertainment and music starting at 4pm. The walk is 18 miles from start to finish, but an easy walk that even the most unaccomplished walkers can complete, the majority of the walk is also wheelchair friendly. Those young people that complete the walk could be eligible for a Youth Achievement Award!!

The aim of SAB is to raise the awareness of bullying behaviour and the consequences to the targets, alleged bullies and bystanders of bullying behaviour across the county of Bridgend and Wales. The group consists of 14 – 25 year old representatives from community groups, third sector organisations and secondary schools in the county who come together to discuss and develop innovative ways of raising awareness of bullying behaviour and oppression within local communities. The group are encouraged to be active citizens through participation, empowerment and through being heard.

For further information and to register for the walk please contact Finola Pickwell at BsEB@bridgend.gov.uk . This is not only so we can send out the sponsor forms, but we need to know numbers. Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel may be interested either to join the walk or as members of the Stand Against Bullying group.

Any young people, schools, colleges, youth groups or organisations wishing to find out more about Stand Against Bullying or young people wishing to join the group please contact Paige Connett-White at: SABullying@outlook.com

Alongside the walk we are running an anti-bullying quiz, the first prize for which is a £20 shopping voucher, the link for the quiz is:

Keep Safe Cyrmu Card & Hate Crime Awareness

The Vale of Glamorgan & Bridgend Community Safety Partnership Teams visited Real Lives Community Group in Barry recently to promote the Keep Safe Cymru card.

The potentially life-saving cards enable vulnerable people to get help when they become ill or feel unsafe. The ‘Keep Safe’ cards were originally designed for people with learning disabilities but can be used more widely used.

Sergeant Angela Bennett said: “Sometimes people find themselves in situations where they need help but can’t communicate, or have needs that are not instantly visible. The Keep Safe cards assist with that communication. We are ensuring that all police officers and staff are aware of the card and to ask people if they have one.”

The cards, which are free, allow people to list their name, emergency contact details as well as health and other important information about themselves to make sure they get the appropriate help if they are taken ill or feel unsafe. In addition people using the card can register their details with our Public Service Centre and will be given a card with a reference number on it. If they then need to ring through to 101 at any point to report a crime, or ask for police assistance, they simply quote the reference number and all the callers registered details will be available to the Public Service Operator.

Judith Major from South Wales Police Public Service Centre (PSC) said: “The Keep Safe Cymru card is part of our commitment to supporting people who could potentially be vulnerable when they are out and about. The card contains important personal and medical information that could ensure vulnerable people get the help they need, when they need it. It’s a useful card to keep in a purse or wallet so we would encourage people to consider whether they, or someone they know, would benefit from having one.”

During the visit there was also emphasis on encouraging people to tell police if they have been a victim of hate crime, whether it be based on race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability. The aim being to make it easier for members of the public to report hate incidents, using the ‘Keep Safe Cymru’ card.

The event was attended by members of Real Lives Community Group who are people with learning disabilities. Sergeant Bennett and her team engaged actively with the group to break down barriers of understanding of the police by running scenarios of what happens when you ring 101 to report a hate crime. The scenarios enabled members to practice what to say and experience the sort of questions that the 101 staff may need to ask to enable them to best help the caller, and showed them how much easier this would be if their details were already registered on the ‘Keep Safe Cymru’ card

Sergeant Bennett added: “It is important that we work together in partnership with groups like the Real Lives Community to ensure people feel they have somewhere to turn if they need to and that their concerns will be dealt with in a sensitive and professional manner. It is also important to raises awareness among the wider community and for everyone to realise that bullying and hate crime will not be tolerated at any level.”

If any other community groups would like a visit from the Community Safety Partnership team please contact them on the following email addresses to make an appointment.

Please note that in respect of the mosque being a sacred place, we ask politely that both adults and children dress modestly with females wearing a headscarf, and that all visitors remove their shoes in the foyer (shoe racks provided).

As some of you may be aware, SRE (Sex & Relationship Education) has been a hot topic in the media recently with Welsh politicians voicing their concerns about the effectiveness of SRE delivery in to schools and the areas that it addresses.

Following a period of discussion coordinated by ABFABB between its service users and members of the Bridgend LGBT forum, we collectively we set about putting together a petition in which we set out the key areas that we feel are required from effective SRE delivery.

As a result of all the hard word we are pleased to report that the Get It Right! SRE for Wales petition has been set in motion and is now open for signatures.

The petition can be viewed here and we’d encourage everyone to sign-up to it and share the petition with friends, family members and colleagues.

We have now finalised the Forum meeting dates for 2015. All meetings will be held at Carnegie House (Old Town Library), Wyndham Street, Bridgend, CF31 4WB between 2 pm and 4pm. This forum is open to all with the LGBT community.

As most are aware by now, the ABFABB project is coming to an end, and will cease in its current form in late December. There’s no doubting that ABFABB has had an incredibly successful run, the team responsible for delivering the project into the community together with its peers have achieved so much during the 4 years that it has operated within the county of Bridgend. As with most projects of this nature, funding is received and allocated for a fixed period of time, in ABFABB’s case funding was received from The Big Lottery fund to facilitate running the project over a 4 year period, due to success of the project additional funding was granted to extend it for a few more months.

So, with so much still left to do for our LGBT+ community, that’s it, simply close the doors and forget about it? Absolutely not! Right from the very beginning of the project, part of the delivery outcomes of ABFABB has always been to include, build and deliver a legacy back into the community and as such ABFABB’s peers have banded together and with the help, support and guidance of BAVO and The Bridge MPS are now in the process of setting up a new charity offering specifically designed to cater towards the growing needs of Bridgend’s LGBT+ community.

In October, it was decided by way of a public vote that the new charity would be called Legacy LGBT+ (quite fitting really) with a purpose to “support, represent and advocate for the LGBT+ community of Bridgend county”. Setting up a charity is by no means a small undertaking and there is still lots of work to do in getting everything in place, like deciding on branding, setting up a new website, launching social media outlets etc, etc but before all that can happen Legacy needs to formalise its structure and this is where you come in.

Legacy LGBT+ are looking to elect 3 new trustees to its board in order to help develop, lead, and manage its members pave the way forward to a successful launch of the new charity into the community, further building on the legacy left by ABFABB. It’s important to note and understand that these positions are voluntary (for the time being!) and will require a substantial amount of time and dedication from the onset so as to make the new charity a success from the start.

If you feel you have the right skills and can commit to your preferred role, ABFABB will be facilitating a meeting on Friday 1st December at The Zone between 6pm and 9pm where all prospective trustees will be given the chance to put their cases forward for their chosen role to the assembled members. A vote will then take place towards the end of the meeting where trustees will be elected onto the board.

This is a chance for you to make a real difference in your community and ALL are welcome to apply and take part in the election process.

If you require more information please email hello@abfabb.org.uk

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As most are aware by now, the ABFABB project is coming to an end, and will cease in its current form in late December. There’s no doubting that ABFABB has had an incredibly successful run, the team responsible for delivering the project into the community together with its peers have achieved so muc...